Resident Evil 6 Interview: Can Capcom Inject New Life Into the Undead?

It’s a big week for gaming! The release of a new mainline Resident Evil game is one of those events where gamers the world over prepare to bunk off school/work (PS.Blog can condone neither action!) and devote their every waking hour to the noble pursuit of zombie slaughter.

The sequel to 2009’s Africa-set Resident Evil 5 is an absolute beast of a game, offering one of the largest single player campaigns in recent memory. Ahead of its global release today, we caught up with executive producer Kobayashi-san, director Sasaki-san and producer Hirabayashi-san at Tokyo Game Show, to find out how Capcom went about creating such a mammoth title.

Fred Dutton, PlayStation.Blog Europe Manager: What makes Resident Evil 6 stand out from its predecessors?
Sasaki: I think it’s the human drama that we really wanted to convey. The script is just so packed with stuff. Trying to blend everything from the script with the game design and make that come together was really a challenge. What we tried while writing the script was to incorporate the level design and the design of the game itself so they blended seamlessly together. That was the toughest part.

PSB: At the beginning of development, do you start out with a story, or do ideas for gameplay and set pieces come first?
Sasaki: I try and get a bunch of different situations in my mind – things that I want to see happening in the game – and they’re usually not connected at all. It’s independent of any story at that stage. For example, with this game when we started, the image I had in my mind was the one of Chris and Leon pointing their guns at each other. That was a cool thing that I wanted to see, but I hadn’t even thought about where the story would be at that point. I just thought that’s a cool thing I wanted in the game – how do we make that happen? How can we make a really cool story around that, and add horror elements and make it work?

PSB: The Resident Evil series is famous for its hammy dialogue, catchphrases and visual memes. Do you consciously try and work those sorts of things into the script?
Sasaki: We are aware of those things but that doesn’t mean we go out of our way to create those situations. When we’re making the story we try to come up with lines that reflect the situation that is happening in the story. Everything has to match the story. I personally have lines which I’m a fan of – and the fans have their favorite lines as well – but we don’t say to ourselves “let’s put this line in the script and everyone will like it and it will become a meme”. That’s not something we try to do; I think it’s something that’s born out of people’s experience with the game.

PSB: Resident Evil 6 is an enormous game – are you worried that some players won’t have the stamina to make it all the way to the end?
Sasaki: Yes, just a little worried about that. But because of that we developed this new service that ties into Resident Evil 6 called REnet. We hope this service will really motivate people to keep playing the game. It’s for you and your friends – it will help keep all of you connected and looking forward to clearing the game.

There are lots of different aspects that will allow that. One of the basic elements is you’re going to be able to check in on your friends’ progress and see how they’re progressing. Conversely they’ll do the same with you, so it will be a challenge for both of you to see how far you can get, and see who is doing better. There are a lot of ways you can compare your progress with that of your friends. It’s compatible with Twitter and Facebook so you can get push notifications from friends. It should spur people to continue playing and make it to the end.

PSB: Resident Evil 5 saw some great Move support. Do you have plans to offer anything similar with its sequel?
Sasaki: Right now, we don’t have plans for that.

PSB: And can you tell us any more about your plans for post-launch support?
Sasaki: We can’t talk about the DLC we are preparing for the game, but in the near future we will be making an announcement about additional content for Resident Evil 6. But the main portion of the game is so loaded with stuff that it should take people a long time to get through this game before they are even ready for DLC.

PSB: I know the PlayStation community would love to see Resident Evil come to PS Vita. Any plans you can discuss?
Sasaki: First of all I’m glad there is a clamoring for something like that. That’s something we will have to look at. If there are enough people clamoring for Resident Evil on Vita that’s definitely something we’ll have to do.

PSB: The Resident Evil fanbase is a particular passionate one and isn’t afraid to voice its concerns when it doesn’t approve of the direction you take with a game. Is it frustrating trying to keep them happy?
Kobayashi: The way I always think of it is that if Resident Evil represents a child, then the fans and us as creators are the two parents. The resulting games are like the children that are born between both of us. And just like real parents, you’re not always going to agree on what is best for raising that child.

Now, we do always have our ear to the ground and listen to what the fans are saying and we try to take that into account when we’re making the game. But it’s our job to create a new gaming experience and to offer them something that’s fresh and challenging. We want to make sure that what we do pleases them but the initial reaction might not always be positive. We do listen to the fans but we can’t be beholden to them at every turn or I don’t think we’ll ever make progress in terms of the series’ development.

PSB: The zombie genre is getting increasingly crowded these days. Do you think there’s still room for innovation?
Hirabayashi: I still think there is room for innovation with the zombie genre. We have to think about what we do next, but at the core of it the zombie element is almost like its own genre now. There are so many things you can do with them. For us, the challenge for the next Resident Evil outing will be sitting down together and thinking what can we do that we haven’t done before.

PSB: After so many years working on RE6 doesn’t the thought of getting started on the next one fill you with horror?!
Hirabayashi: If there are any discussions about furthering the series, yes, the first feeling I would have would be one of fear! But right now we’re so far from that stage – everything is focused on Resident Evil 6.

Why is there a Resident Evil game on the 3DS but not the Vita? Capcom has made it clear that they favor Nintendo when it comes to putting their games on a handheld. And they can’t talk about DLC because the 360 is getting timed exclusive DLC before PS3

Got to love how people keep bickering on about how the series is messed up or going down the drain. The game is making far more money than it did in the past because they’re taking it down the more popular route. I would personally love to see a new game come out that is comparable to Resident Evil 2, but that just isn’t likely to happen. Get over it. The game is a very solid one if you’re not ridiculously nostalgic.

STOP LISTENING TO REVIEWS!!!! Why care about reviews when you can make your own opinion based on the demo and gameplay trailers. Reviews are always going to﻿ be biased whether people do it intentionally or not. I like both demos and every gameplay vid I have watched, and that is all I need in order to buy a game.

The game is not the standard 3rd person shooter. You need some time to get used to the gameplay mechanics, but once you get acquainted with them it is really enjoyable. Just because Capcom tried to do something different,﻿ it does not mean it sucks. It gets better the more you play it; and if you have a friend to play with, it is the best RE game yet, at least for me.

Well said, I am 25% into RE5 and loving it. As soon as I beat 5 I am buying RE6 as part of the October $100/$20 deal. Nothing wrong with Capcom making something new and different. The story is still there for you to enjoy. If you want the tank controls go back and play all the older RE.

@11 i know but most “hardcore” fans keep ******** about “oh RE is not horror anymore, it’s a normal shooter” with the progress of the series, it stopped being in a closed city it’s an worldwide situation so of course it will tun into a shooter but with it’s own gameplay… also when it’s about story they say”it’s not zombies anymore they use guns” well as the japanese name says “Biohazard” it’s mutation they were never zombies to begin with, they just looked like one, and they would use it to get “superhumans power” or something like that, look at wesker X_X nobody said anything about him not being a zombie >_>

We just want a game thats like the original but with better controls i just wish they would take some pointers from dead space now that game has some horror moment especially with the great sound effects and lighting. You always feel like your being watched in that game . Now in resident evil its just go here shoot go get a key open door have a beer with a zombie before you shoot it in the head lol

I, too, am voting for a title on Vita, please. Also, Monster Hunter for the Vita. Both of these games would be big-time system sellers. I know Nintendo 3DS is currently up to about 20 million units sold worldwide and Vita is only at about 3M. However, both RE and MH would pitch system sales forward (we’ve seen this trend happen SOO many times in the past) and, if we’re being honest, the Vita is a SIGNIFICANTLY superior system to the 3DS in terms of hardware and quality. Capcom, you’re more than welcome to chase the money, but please do your customers some fan service and start making more games for the better systems. You’ll make plenty of money that way, too.

I’m not the biggest fan of the RE series as a whole, but i really like RE 2 and 4. Gamefly has shipped this to me, so i should get it tomorrow.
Theres no way i would buy this type of game after being frustrated with how RE5 turned out. But i will play this game just to see how Leon’s campaign turns out.

dont you study in school?…..i think you think of asians as they were all from east asia (japan,korea,china) though i wont blame you cause its a common misconception among idiots……people from middle east are asians and they dont look like the people from east asia….also some former ussr nations like kazakhstan etc they look like caucasians but they are asians……

“Sharing similar concepts is not the same as CHANGING your game to fit current TRENDS in gaming you numbskull.”

Changes happened ages ago…get over it. Things evolve for a reason, the old version of Resident Evil has been determined to be “obsolete” from a business standpoint. Want to change that? Get an education, take over Capcom, and release a new game fitting your standards. Otherwise, like I said, get over it.

I have purchased every RE game available for the PS. I used to have every series of RE toys they had. I have a RE tattoo (im not proud of that). I played the demo today and thought it was horrible. Its Uncharted with zombies. They might as well have him jump and climb buildings. I know this game will sell because they are after the new generation of RE fans not the originals. If they just do the same old stop aim and shoot with a new story it would be a huge seller for them. Just my opinion. But for all of you who will buy this for 60+ bucks……sorry for you. I will get it when its 20 in a couple of months.

What Capcom needs to do is start caring about the fans, SF4 and RE5 were my last Capcom games because they just keep screweing early adopters of their games by releasing a better version of the same game while making the original version non upgradeable and making it obsolete, and they keep getting worse like on SF X Tekken was crazy with all those characters as on disc DLC.

Would people quit talking about themselves like they are apart of some “veteran” community and therefore speak on their behalf? I started playing this game when I was quite young. While I’d appreciate a new game like Resident Evil 2 being released (I’d even be content with a Resident Evil 2 HD remake to be honest), I am competent enough to understand that those games are now considered obsolete.

Capcom is more interested in pleasing the majority, not the minority. You are no longer part of their demographic.

YES!! YES!! MAKE A RESIDENT EVIL GAME FOR THE PLAYSTATION VITA! Or at least port RE:revelations to the vita. I am already consdering buying a vtia, but I’d definately buy one if there was a Resident Evil a game for it. Im not trying to preasure Capcom or sony but, yes a RE vita game would be cool.

I kinda feel a little bad for Capcom, having 200+ people working on a former top franchise to only get Bad to Mixed reviews. 3 Rating on Destructoid and a 220+ Negative shredding in metacritic user reviews, Yikes! If there’s a Capcom franchise in need of a serious reboot…it will be Resident Evil. My .02

Hi. i have just one question i am muslim there is pictures of re5 and re4 showing capcom insulting quran in lost in nightmare!!!!!!!! i hope this time capcom realised and didnt make content like that or otherwise capcom will lose million fans including me.

But anyway, Resident Evil 6 is an awesome action packed game!!! it is everything i thought it would be plus more. Everybody just STOP hating. Ive been a long time fan of the series and can say without a doubt Capcom did not ruin the game.

And idk why people flip about enemies not being “classic” zombies anymore. We aren’t dealing with the good ol’ T-Virus anymore, this is the C-Virus, its parasitic and causes mutations. This is bioterrorism, not just a zombie outbreak.